'Hunger Games' frenzy surpasses 'Twilight'

'Hunger Games'

Murray Close, Lionsgate photo

Elizabeth Banks (left) and Jennifer Lawrence star in "The Hunger Games." The movie -- based on a series of best-selling novels -- opens in theaters this weekend, but many Baltimore-area shows are already sold out.

Elizabeth Banks (left) and Jennifer Lawrence star in "The Hunger Games." The movie -- based on a series of best-selling novels -- opens in theaters this weekend, but many Baltimore-area shows are already sold out. (Murray Close, Lionsgate photo)

With the wide release of "The Hunger Games" movie in little more than a day, ticket sales are headed for a record, as fans across the country prepare for the biggest literary adaptation since the Harry Potter and Twilight films. And early ticket sales show that the movie is not just for teen-agers.

The movie about post-apocalyptic North America is on track to become the biggest seller for the on-line ticket site Fandango, according to The Baltimore Sun's Jill Rosen. And more than 2,000 showtimes nationwide have sold out already.

Interestingly, nearly half of the tickets are being purchased by people older than 25, the article notes. I bet there's a sizeable contingent of middle-aged women, too.

The Harry Potter and Twilight books, ostensibly aimed at a young readers, were quickly snapped up by adults, and the same phenomenon can be seen with Suzanne Collins' trilogy. The first book is all the rage among women at my wife's workplace, and now she's eager to read it. Much of that is due to the female protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. And women are more voracious readers than men.

That all bodes well for the movie -- and others that surely will follow -- as well as book sales. And it won't be long before Katniss becomes a hugely popular name for babies.

Baltimore isn't that different from Suzanne Collins' post-apocalyptic world Panem in "The Hunger Games." With "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" coming out on Nov. 22, get back in the game by checking out 14 places in Baltimore that will remind you of Panem.--Krishana Davis Warning: If you haven't...